When the International Olympic Committee announced last week that female events at the 2028 Los Angeles Games would be limited to females, I genuinely felt something loosen in my chest. After years of watching governing bodies shrug and stall, claiming the science was “too complicated,” here was the most prestigious sports organization on the planet stating plainly that males have physical advantages that do not disappear. IOC President Kirsty Coventry put it simply: “It would not be fair for biological males to compete in the female category.” Progress, finally. A rare W. I allowed myself to feel good about it for about 48 hours.
Then I remembered the girls in Jefferson County, Colorado. While the world was applauding the IOC for protecting female athletes at the elite level, high school girls in Colorado’s second-largest school district have been quietly losing their spots on the field, the court, and the track. A U.S. Department of Education report released on March 13 revealed that Jefferson County Public Schools, or Jeffco, is violating Title IX by allowing male students to compete on girls’ sports teams and access female-only facilities. The DOE’s review of Jeffco’s athletic rosters found that male students may occupy up to 61 roster positions on girls’ sports teams across the district. Sixty-one spots. Those are 61 real girls, with real athletic goals, who did not get to compete. They do not have a podium. They do not have a press conference. Nobody is doing a press tour for them.
The DOE’s findings extend beyond just sports. Jeffco’s policy allows students to use bathrooms, locker rooms, and overnight accommodations that align with their “gender identity.” Lindsay Datko, a Jeffco parent who founded the advocacy group Jeffco Kids First, reported instances where girls felt compelled to slip into their sleeping bags during overnight trips to avoid changing in front of a male high school leader assigned to their cabin. These are minors. These are children on a school trip. The district’s response to the DOE’s findings was to call them “erroneous” and remind everyone that Jeffco has complied with Colorado state law since 2013. They are technically correct on that last part. Colorado’s Civil Rights Commission has required schools to accommodate students based on “gender identity” for more than a decade, highlighting the very urgency of federal intervention.
What makes the Jeffco situation so revealing is how perfectly it captures the “equity” gap between rhetoric and reality. Colorado prides itself on being a state that protects everyone. Its officials constantly speak about “inclusion” and creating safe spaces for all students. Yet, when the DOE identified 61 girls who may have been displaced from their own teams, the district’s instinct was not to ask hard questions but to dig in, cite state law, and accuse the federal government of manufacturing a problem. Jeffco’s statement promised to center “equitable educational opportunities for all students” while simultaneously refusing to acknowledge the girls who have already been edged out. That is not equity. That is a word being used as a shield.
As Olympians prepare for their events, showcasing their hard-won spots on the podium, countless young girls are being sidelined while those making decisions seem more concerned with maintaining the status quo than ensuring fairness for all athletes. The DOE has given Jeffco ten days to comply with its order, which includes rescinding its current policies and publicly adopting biology-based definitions of male and female. However, Jeffco has not indicated that it will comply. Datko expressed doubts that the district will actually fall in line, even while fearing the loss of federal funding if enforcement follows. This situation is likely to evolve into a protracted legal fight while actual girls in actual school districts continue to compete for fewer and fewer spots.
The IOC got the memo. The world’s biggest sports organization recognized science and prioritized fairness over ideological beliefs. Yet, the young girls of Jeffco and countless others across the nation remain unheard, struggling to have their voices validated and their rights acknowledged. It is imperative that we elevate the plight of these girls, insisting that they too deserve protection and opportunities to thrive in the sports they love. Until their concerns are taken seriously, we cannot profess to support true equity in athletics. These girls need to be heard and they need our help.
